Engen-eering a name change

Shareholders in
Coote Industrial
, now under the firm control of Dale Elphinstone, have plenty to ponder when the company holds its annual general meeting in Perth later this month.

The company – which told the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday it had no idea why its share price has been rising of late – lodged its notice of AGM with the market earlier this week and wants shareholders to approve the more than doubling of fees paid to its directors.

Elphinstone, Tasmania’s richest man, is also seeking shareholder approval to sell rolling stock to his private company Elph, and to change Coote’s name to Engenco. Elphinstone believes “Engen" evokes “allusions to engineering and engines" and “co" reflects the fact “the company is a group of separate yet related . . . businesses".

A name change could also be in the offing for
Empire Beer Group
, chaired by
Chris Morris
. It is finally set to make an acquisition this week or next, of an infrastructure technology business.